Hi All,

As you know, when interesting NT news items appear we have an
additional NewsFlash going out. There's three hot news items
this time:

1) MICROSOFT RELEASES SMS VERSION 2.0 
2) SERVICE PACK 5 EXPECTED LATER THIS YEAR
3) NEW PRODUCT: PRINT CONSOLE CENTRALLY MANAGES ALL PRINTERS

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1) MICROSOFT RELEASES SMS VERSION 2.0 

The new V2.0 was based on feedback from system admins using V1.2 and 
actually addresses a series of important issues. SMS 2.0 provides 
planning tools including hardware and software inventory and new features 
such as software metering that keeps tabs on a company's software usage 
and tools that help administrators ensure applications are Y2K compliant. 

It provides deployment tools to enable the remote distribution and 
installation of applications and operating systems. And it delivers 
remote diagnostics tools that are designed to help administrators 
troubleshoot user problems from one central location, including new 
server and network monitoring tools. 

SMS 2.0 can help lower our support costs, manage change, and ensure 
Y2K preparedness for Windows-based desktops and servers. In addition to 
enhancements to its existing planning, deployment and diagnostics tools, 
SMS 2.0 includes several new features that customers have requested. 

One new tool, software metering, allows administrators to ensure that all 
client computers are running software in compliance with company policy, 
such as within license agreements, or at appropriate times. Games, for 
instance, can be prevented from being run during the workday. Software 
metering includes tools that analyze, monitor and control the use of 
applications on servers and workstations. 

SMS 2.0 also includes new Y2K-compliance checking tools with a Microsoft 
database of applications and their Year 2000 compliance levels. SMS 2.0 
checks all machines in a network and compares them to the Y2K database to 
find out if and where problem software resides. Testing can also be 
extended to other areas, such as the Euro symbol. 

SMS 2.0 also distributes software. 

Administrators can deploy software to any combination of specific users,
groups, machines or groups of machines with SMS 2.0. It allows system
admins to schedule delayed installations to occur during non-peak hours 
or plan the execution of any command - such as running virus-scanning 
applications - on specific computers. Check out more at Microsoft's 
website at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/dailynews/020899.htm
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2) SERVICE PACK 5 EXPECTED LATER THIS YEAR

Microsoft will very likely ship a fifth service pack for Windows NT 4.0, 
expected by the end of this year. The reasoning behind this has nothing 
to do with the state of the current SP4 release. It's part of Microsoft's 
ongoing strategy to do regular, periodic service packs. The year-long 
interval between SP3 and SP4 was longer than Microsoft would have liked.

Microsoft as yet has no firm ship date for SP5 (what else is new) nor 
can they disclose any specifics on what would be in the upcoming SP5 
beyond saying it will include bug fixes and minor updates. I expect this
one to be a lot smaller than SP4, that is recommended to everyone to
deploy to make sure you are Y2K compliant. SP3 with all the hotfixes 
will do that too, but it's better to deploy SP4. Make sure you test it
though.
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3) NEW PRODUCT: PRINT CONSOLE CENTRALLY MANAGES ALL PRINTERS

Today Print Console was announced, a very easy way to manage and control 
networked printers in an enterprise environment. Print Console reduces 
printer downtime and saves you personally a lot of time as well.

Print Console is the first complete tool to offer management of printers 
across an enterprise network from one central console. It is a must-have 
for help-desk staff, network administrators or anyone responsible for 
managing printers said Bill Feeley, President of Software Shelf Inc. 
With Print Console?s remote management technology, it is no longer 
necessary to walk to a printer or carry out many of the time consuming
tasks currently required. 

Print Console is a fast, complete print management solution for Windows
NT. It simplifies the task of managing multitudes of printers in an 
enterprise wide network. Print Console?s 'PrintFolders' feature provides
an intuitive way to manage large groups of printers and jobs
simultaneously. Printers can be grouped and sorted based on criteria that
are most important to the administrator. 

Special handling of overloaded printers, and printers with errors, can
alert administrators to problem areas before users start calling. Print
Console?s remote management capabilities extend well beyond the print
management utilities provided in Windows NT. Unlike Windows? built-in
tools, managing a printer with Print Console does not require the tedious
task of installing the printer driver locally. 

With the 'Duplicate Printer' feature, administrators can install printers
remotely. Management of printers has never been easier with the ability
to automatically add, locate and track printers across multiple domains.
With advanced error detection, Print Console will detect printing errors
and highlight them to the administrator. For administrators who want to
quickly find trouble spots, printers can be sorted so that the busiest
printers show up first. 

Pricing and Availability: $395 and available immediately.

System Requirements: Print Console runs on Windows NT 4.0 Server or
Workstation. It supports an unlimited number of users and printers
printing from any client type (Windows 9x, Unix, OS/2 or Macintosh).
Print Console manages printers hosted by and Windows NT Server or Workstation.

Free 30-day eval at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/printcons.htm
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That's all for this NewsFlash!

Warm regards,

Stu Sjouwerman

(email me with feedback: [email protected])